


Let it burn

by Rabbitafy



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Fire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 12:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2151075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabbitafy/pseuds/Rabbitafy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Schwabl meant the world to him, so it was no surprise that he would risk his life to save her. But he never thought a certain Candy Prince would do the same...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let it burn

**Author's Note:**

> Totally un-beta'd or even unread. I literally wrote this and now I'm posting it.
> 
> I'm trying to get back into writing and this is more of a practice piece then anything, but I thought I'd share it in case people want to enjoy.

**Let it burn**

He wasn’t sure how it had happened. One minute he was fast asleep, the next he was on all fours, crouched down and reaching under the sofa for his terrified feline as the house around him burned.

Schwabl was a wreck, yowling loudly in fear as she cowered just out of his reach. The flames from the top of the sofa licked at his lower back as he tried to reach farther and farther, trying to evade the inventible. There was no way he was going to be able to reach her, he knew he would have to move the burning piece of furniture and likely suffer some stinging burns from it.

She was worth it, though.

Sitting up, Marshall Lee lifted himself off the ground in one swift motion using his vampiric floating abilities, before he sat himself down beside the heated couch. Instantly hissing aloud as the flames touched him, he reached for the back of the object and _pulled_ , trying to move it away from the wall so he could reach her.

Then the sound caught his attention… the horrible _crack_ as the upper floorboards gave way to the burning and snapped apart. He barely had enough time to look up before they came down on top of him, slamming into his head and knocking him to the floor.

The world swam, his vision going in and out as he took in the form of his fearful pet, her big dark eyes staring at him. All he could think was that he was glad the sofa had been there… if it hadn’t, she would have been crushed with the falling floor just as he had been.

He didn’t have the will to think about how this was going to be the end, how the burning of his residence was going to take his form with it. His head was spinning and try as he might, he couldn’t lift the boards from atop his body, or even move.

Suddenly the living room door burst open in a spray of splinters, a tall form swarming in with haste. At first he assumed it was Fionna – brave girl that she was, he had no doubt she would rush into an aflame building to save one of her best friends… but upon a closer inspection – as close as he could, at least, with his vision so fuzzy – he realized the figure couldn’t have been her. It was far too tall and too skinny to be her adorably chubby self. Who was this?

The heaviness on his back was removed and he was quickly lifted from the ground. Panic instantly filled his mind as Schwabl left his vision, his hands reaching for the sofa and his mouth moving to call for her, despite the fact that sound refused to fall from his lips. He was carried from the house and placed on the ground outside, before the figure turned and rushed back in.

At that moment he had no doubt that whoever it was, they were trying to find his beloved pet to keep her safe as well.

With that thought, he allowed his mind to slip into the darkness that beckoned him, unconsciousness stealing his last thoughts of, _Thank you_.

* * *

At first, the sound of the heart monitor was an extreme annoyance, beeping every so often as he awoke. After a few moments, however, he found it comforting, realizing that he was in fact still very much alive, if the objects strapped to his chest just above his beating heart were any indication.

Squinting his eyes open, Marshall was thankful for the dim light in the hospital room, his vision blinking in and out of focus as he tried to take in his surroundings.

The Candy Kingdom hospital, he knew that place in a moment. It was always easy to tell when he was in the sugary city, as everything had a generalized theme of sweet treats plastered to its every square inch. But why was he here? Surely his savior would have taken him to a different hospital… one closer to his home, at least.

“Marshall…”

The sound of the other’s voice made his blood sting in his veins. His eyes drifted to the seat beside his bed and he had to hold back the surprised hiss that threatened to fall from his lips as he spotted the form of someone he both loved and hated, wrapped in bandages and smiling at him weakly.

“Bubba?” He questioned and the Prince of the Candy Kingdom smiled somewhat sheepishly, as if he had been caught in the midst of a terrible act. Realizing that the sun was far gone, the Vampire wondered just how long he had been unconscious and, furthermore, if the other had been at his bedside the entire time.

“Schwabl is fine,” Bubba Gumball addressed and almost instantly, Marshall felt guilty that his first thoughts hadn’t been of his precious cat. “Just a little frightened. Fionna is watching her for you.”

With a wince as his head pounded in protest, the older man slowly sat up, trying to make sense of the situation around him. How had he wound up in the Candy Kingdom and why was the Prince covered in bandages…?

Then it all hit him at once as his brain put together the sharpened pieces, which had refused to fit until that point. Pale blue eyes widened and the dark-haired Vampire turned on his sugary on-again off-again friend, his heart in his throat. “You’re the one who…?”

“Saved you?” The younger man finished, giving a sort of half-smile that was just as uncomfortable as Marshall felt. “That was me, yes.”

Dark brows furrowed and the Vampire allowed himself to lean back in his bed, lifting a hand to his head as if it would stop the pounding. “…Why?” He finally managed to ask after a few seconds of awkward silence, which seemed to leave him feeling deafened.

Bubba seemed almost offended by the words, a frown crossing his pink lips. “I couldn’t let you _die_ , Marshall Lee.” He informed, his voice all high-pitched like it usually got when he was irritated. “Perhaps we’ve had our differences but you’re still my _friend_. Even if I can’t stand you half the time.”

Unable to hide the small smile of amusement that these words brought on, Marshall shook his head, before instantly wincing at the pain it brought on. Though normally one would wonder why his companion wasn’t calling for any medication to help the ache, he knew that the Prince was fully aware that things like pain killers didn’t affect him.

“No, you bitter walnut,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes in a dramatic display, despite the dizziness it brought on. “I _mean_ , why were you at my house in the first place?”

Thick bubblegum eyebrows lifted for a moment, before the Prince flushed a deep rose, turning his face away. For a moment, his dark-haired friend took in his form – fingers bandaged to the nines and arms the same. Even his face seemed to have suffered from some burns, the sugary surface slightly melted and a piece of cloth taped across one cheek.

“…I was returning your T-Shirt,” He explained, reaching up to nervously adjust the crown atop his head as if by nervous habit. “Your ‘Boys Night’ T-Shirt. You left it at Fionna’s last night. I had it washed and I was bringing it back to your place when I saw the flames. I didn’t hesitate to pull you out and then I went back for Schwabl, since I know how much she means to you.”

And she did mean a lot to him, that much was certain. After all, he had risked his own life for the feline… but the fact that Bubba had done the same made his heart swell.

“Why did I take the shirt off in the first place?” The Vampire idly mused, trying to remember the previous night, though for some reason the thoughts eluded him. It was frustrating and it left a sick feeling in his stomach.

The blush that spread over the Prince’s cheeks enhanced tenfold as he lifted one closed fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, eyes elsewhere. “Because,” He addressed and it was incredibly obvious how uncomfortable the subject was to him. “We were making out in her kitchen.”

Instantly the memory flooded back to the older man and a grin grew across his face. His head swam, but he couldn’t resist himself as he leaned in, wiggling his dark eyebrows up and down as Bubba frowned at him. “Ah, right,” Marshall addressed, smugly smiling at his companion. “I remember now.”

Silence fell between them after that and lingered on for several more moments as the dark-haired man returned to his seat in the bed, leaning back and closing his eyes. They remained like that for what felt like an eternity before the vampire finally worked up the nerve to speak.

“So… where am I going to stay now?” He wondered, more to himself then anyone in particular. It was a way to break the nervous tension, but Bubba seemed to take it as a serious question as he frowned.

“Well…” He sighed, shooting a glance out the partially covered window and gazing upon his home, the Candy Palace. “…I suppose you could stay with me until you find somewhere more permanent.”

It was too difficult to resist the smirk that crossed Marshall’s pale blue lips. He knew that the Prince found it extremely annoying, but he couldn’t help but laugh aloud as the taller man frowned at him. “Just like old times, eh, Bubs?” Wiggling his eyebrows once more, the Vampire King pointed his fingers at his companion as if he were holding a weapon, before pretending to fire.

“Oh shut up, Marshall Lee,” the other sighed, though there seemed to be the smallest hint of a smile across his lips. Then, as an afterthought, he added, “And when I say you can stay, I mean _you_. Not your globbing cat!”

“Aww, Bubs! C’mon, man! She beefing loves you!”

“No! I _hate_ that cat!”

“Puh-leese?”

“No! Absolutely not, Marshall Lee! There is no way in Lumpy Space that she is-… Don’t you give me that pout. No! I mean it! No means _no_!”

The following morning, Schwabl curled up happily on the Prince’s bed and slept the day away.


End file.
